Traveling for 4 months straight is...

If I told you that traveling for 4 straight months was easy I'd be lying.  Of course, I know that my way of traveling is a lot more easy compared to a lot of other backpackers who are doing the very same thing.  I have really covered some ground though in 4 months.  Starting out in South Africa - gosh that seems like ages ago - then flying back to the states and doing a weekend in Jamaica (yeh mon forgot about that trip) then flying to the Middle East and covering my head for 3.5 weeks.  Oh and then there were the former USSR countries of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan (random places that everyone frowns when I tell them I went here).  My long layover in Istanbul where I spent a grand at the bazaar getting home furnishings for that house someday when I finally settle down.  Wedding in Pakistan, yup that was a great experience.  Followed by the clearest bluest sandiest and most awesome hotel in the Maldives.  Sri Lanka - yup that was next where I finally entered Asia and wished I had two more weeks to spend my time.  Now over to my future home some day singapore - myanmar and now here I am in bali, Indonesia relaxing - working on my tan on a daily basis and practicing yoga.  I have visited 17 new countries since I started!  17!  That brings my country total to 76!  The goal still being 100 before I'm 30 next November.  The whole trip has had its ups and downs - and overall has been such an amazing experience that I will never forget.  

Some tips I'd like to share or things that I've learned on this trip:

1).  Always have USD$ on you, all denominations.  No matter what country you visit everyone knows dollars and in a lot of countries, even the menus have usd prices and they even charge you in usd and sometimes it's a hassle if you give them local currency!  

2).  Don't travel with a good friend for longer then 1-2 months at a time.  Shit gets old, fights happen, friendships end - period.

3).  Call home often.  Yeh I'm working on this, but luckily I have free texting in a lot of countries and Facebook to tell my parents and sister that I'm still alive.

4).  Take breaks.  Yeh it's ok, the other day I didn't do anything.  I watched 4 movies.  It was awesome.

5).  Keep in touch with friends.  Just because I'm not in the US I've been still trying to keep in contact with old co workers and my friends.  It's important.  I think people forget that I'm only a text away.  Gotta love t-mobile - and that's number 6!

6).  Get t-mobile unlimited data/text plan - 88$ with taxes out the door.  Best phone plan ever for international traveling

7).  Make friends, add them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.  touch base meet up again.  Sounds easy but it's not.  I've already ran into and met so many people but I always forget to ask to connect.  You never know when you might visit their country and need a place to crash or a friend to show you around

8).  Check bank accounts daily!  Or as much as you can.  I have a good habit of this, especially when I'm taking money out of a foreign atm.  I always like to keep track of the exchange rate used.  I also want to closely monitor my accounts because you never know if someone is watching you and reading your cc numbers especially when traveling.  Anyways you should do this all the time regardless.

9).  No brainer here, but keep track of your miles!  I've flown a ton since I've started and a lot of my flights have been booked on miles.  But when they aren't, I'm making sure to fly with a carrier that is affiliated with united, or ba etc.  

10).  I'm struggling to find 10 tips, shall I just say enjoy the ride?  Don't think about the future and focus on the present.  I'm always telling myself not to worry about finding a job when I'm finally done traveling, but gosh I find it hard not to check in every other day on LinkedIn and make sure my resume is all up to date.  Not sure why?!!!